Milking apparatus.



No- 798,608. PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905. J. H. HOOVER.

MILKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6.1905.

UNITED, STATES.

PATENT orrron.

JOSEPH H. HOOVER, OF W A'lEltLOO, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE SANITARY COW M ILKING TION OF IOWA.

COM PAN Y,

or MINNEAPOLIS, nnnuicso'ra, YA bourona MILKIING APPARATUS.-

, Patented Sept. 5, 1905.

ApplicationfiledJune 6,1905. SerialNo, 263,910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosnP'H H. Hoovnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vater- 100, in the county of 'Blackhawk and State of Iowa, have invented I Improvements in Milking Apparatus; and 'l certain new and useful do hereby declare the following to .be a full,

.clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertaius to make and use the same. y invention relates to a cow-milking apparatus of the character wherein milk is drawn from the'cow through tubes and by suction or, partial vacuum produced in the said tubes by an air-pump; g

My invention has for its object to'improve this class of apparatus in the severalparticulars hereinafter noted; and it consists of the novel devicesand combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.-

' whichthe branch pipes 5 may is one forcach stall.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout both views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating my improved apparatus applied to the stalls of the barn and attached to the cows; and Fig. 2 is a detail view in plan showing one end of one of the milk-tubes and showing a novel arrangement of flexible branch and cup tubes, some parts being sectioned. a The numeral 1 indicates the floor, and the numeral 2 stall-posts, rigidly secured thereto in the usual or any suitable way. The character 2 indicates the cows within the stalls and which are being milked by my improved apparatus.

The numeral 3 indicates an air-pipe which leads toan air-pump,(notshown,)butby means of which the partial vacuum is prod uced'in the various tubes and pipes of the milking apparatus. At one end the pipe 3 leads from the horizontally-extended pipe 4, having depending branches 5, of which branches there In the upper ends of 1 pipes 5 are valves 6, by means of be independthe rancl entlyopened andclosed at will.

he numeral 7 indicates a vacuum-gage, which is in communication with pipe 4.

he numeral 8 indicates the milk-can, which with a removable cover 9 of the make the can approximately air-tight when yieldingly connected a set applied thereto. One of these cans 8'is connected to each of ably by means of a flexible hose or air-tube 10, that opens into the upper portion of said can. Another flexible tube or hose-section 11 opens from the upper portion of said can 8, and this tube at its outer end is connected by a three-plunged tubular coupling 12 to'a pair of flexible branch tubes 13. Each branch tube 13 in turn is connected pronged tubular coupling 14 toa pair of flexibleso-called cup-tubes 15, in tef'posed stop-cocks 16,- by means of which the said tubes 15 may be independently opened and closed at will. To th cup-tube 15 is applied a so-called teat-cup 17, which is of tubular form-and preferably constructed of glass, being provided at its outer end with a tubular rubber cap 17. It willthus be seen that to each milk-tube -11 is of four teat-cups and th'atthese cups are capable of a very large range of adj ustmeut with respect to each other, so that the device is perfectly adapted for application-to cows in which the teatsare located in very different relative positions. The lar e e, outer end of each by a threerange of adjustment required in devices of this 7 mit a large range of adjustment between the In my imtwo. pairs ofeups, and the flexible tubes 15" I afford, independently thereof, a large range of adjustment between the cups which make up the pairs. 1 i

In practice it has been found that better results maybe obtained in the'milking action when a yielding tension is constantly applied to theseveral teat-cups. Hence I attach a coiled spring 18 to a suitable anchorage, such as one of the posts 2, and to the free end of said spring I attach a draw-cord 19, which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to the said teat-cups. is provided with branches 19, that are attached one to each of the couplings 14. As shown, this cord 19 runs under a guide-2O on the lower portion of the corresponding post 2. The spring,18 maintains an even pressure on the teat-cups, tending to draw them from Preferably said draw-cord 19 st 'ain to overcome the, suction due to the partial vacuum within the a1r-tubes and conficient for the purposes had'in view.

and hence will not materially increase the ,SIOIT an the teat-cups.

having flexible branch tubes, said branch tubes each having two cup-tubes,-and teatcups ncctions. If a cow should jump suddenly backward, the spring 18 will instantly yield,

ten- A weight if used in lieu of the spring would not be the equivalent to these-id spring, because under a sudden jerk or movement of the cowtheforce required to overcome its inertia would very greatly increase for the instant the pull or drawing action on the teat-cups.

A milking apparatus involved in the substantially novel features of construction above described has been constructed and put into actual use and has been found'extremely ef- What I claim, and desire to secure Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows: ,1. In a milking apparatus, a milking-tube applied to the ends of said'cuptubes, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a milking apparatus, the combination of a-milk-tube11, havingflexible branch tubes 13 connected thereto by three-pronged tubular couplings 12, of flexible cup-tubes 15 provided with valves 16 and connected in pairs to said tubes 13, by three-pronged tubular couplings 14 and teat-cups 17 applied to the ends of said tubes 15, substantially as described:

.3. In a milking apparatus, theccolnbinationl.

with amilk-tube having'fl'ex'i ble branchtubes 7 offlexible cup tubes conn ted impairs to saidbranch tubes, teat-cups apiilied tojthe endsoj said cup-tubes, a draw-cord IQattacheclto oer;

chored at one end and connected at its other end to said draw-cord, substantially as'jde scribed. In testimony whereof I afiix my presence of two witnesses;

V JOSEPH H HOOVER. Witnesses:

O. I. LEWIS, L. E; PARK.

signatu re in tain of said tubes, and a'coiled spring 18; v 

